System and method for application traffic control

ABSTRACT

A system for managing web traffic comprising a meta control operating on a first processor having a first control interface and configured to generate a request for content and to transmit the request for content over a digital data network to a meta control server. The meta control server operating on a second processor and configured to receive the request for content and to select data for one or more second control interfaces as a function of data associated with the first control interface and to transmit the data for the one or more second control interfaces over the digital data network to the first control interface. The first control interface displays the data for the one or more second control interfaces and monitors user activity associated with the data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/842,026, filed Dec. 14, 2017,which claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/434,317,filed on Dec. 14, 2016, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to software applications, andmore specifically to a system and method for controlling traffic betweenapplications, such as when a viewing user is directed from a firstapplication to a second application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Web based applications can direct viewing users to other web basedapplications and from other web based applications to the web basedapplications using hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or otherprocedures. Direction of viewing users thus creates traffic between theweb based applications. However, there is very little control over suchtraffic, as a viewing user of a primary web based application can thennavigate to other web based applications after they have left theprimary web based application and the viewing user of the secondary webbased applications can navigate to the primary web based application andcan view the content of the web based applications therein without anycontrol of the traffic directed there between.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the goals of a web traffic management system includes using ameta control operationally functional with a primary web site and a metacontrol server to ensure that linkable data integrated with the primaryweb site and provided from secondary web sites only includes linkabledata from secondary web sites deemed as non-competing web sites andsecondary web sites determined to be web sites that may not decreasetraffic flow to the primary web site or the primary web site can assistin increasing traffic to the secondary web site.

In an aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a system formanaging web traffic that includes a meta control, such as a widget,operating on a first processor having a first control interface, such asa blog, and configured to generate a request for content and to transmitthe request for content over a digital data network to a meta controlserver. The meta control server receives the request for content andselect data for one or more second control interfaces, such as otherblogs, as a function of data associated with the first blog, and totransmit the data for the one or more second blogs to the first blog.The first blog displays the data for the one or more second blogs andmonitors user activity associated with the data, such as a click throughevent by a viewing user.

The system also scrapes text and image data associated with the firstcontrol interface; determines a publisher of data for each of the secondcontrol interfaces; and selects data for one or more second controlinterface according to the determined publisher. The system alsogenerates a list of prospective one or more second control interfaces toidentify and rank the second control interfaces. The rank of the secondcontrol interfaces can be based on relevance of the data of one or moresecond control interfaces; on inbound clicks or outbound clicks; onrelevance of the data and then based on either inbound clicks oroutbound clicks; on relevance of the data and then based on outboundclicks and then based on inbound clicks; relevance of the data and thenbased on inbound clicks and then based on outbound clicks; on relevanceof the data and then based on outbound clicks of the first controlinterface and then based on inbound click statistics of a second controlinterface; and on relevance of the data then based on inbound clickstatistics of the first control interface and then based on outboundclick statistics of a second control interface.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the drawings may be to scale, butemphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of thepresent disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system for traffic management in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system for meta control analysis in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an algorithm for updating click-throughstatistics, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an algorithm for selecting secondary controlinterface content for a primary control interface, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same reference numerals. The drawingfigures may be to scale and certain components can be shown ingeneralized or schematic form and identified by commercial designationsin the interest of clarity and conciseness.

In the specification and drawings that follow, the methods and systemspresented herein address issues associated with the management ofwebsite data and the integration thereof. As web based technologiesevolve and as consumers expect more from web based services, serviceproviders and merchants seek to find ways in which to provide the mosteffective enhanced services without compromising or negatively impactingthe revenue based flow of traffic for the service provider and themerchant. In other words, a content provider wherein web based trafficis essential to their business seeks to provide content most relevant totheir customer needs. However, if the integration of third party contentinto a primary content providers web site offering can negatively impactthe primary content provider's business, obviously integration of thatcontent would not be desirable. Therefore, a need for a web basedmechanism to manage integration of third party web based content with aprimary content provider exists.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 100 for traffic management in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. System 100includes control interface 102, control interfaces 104A through 104N andmeta control server 106, each of which can be implemented in hardware ora suitable combination of hardware and software.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and“between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. Asused herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between aboutX and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean“from about X to about Y.”

As used herein, “hardware” can include a combination of discretecomponents, an integrated circuit, an application-specific integratedcircuit, a field programmable gate array, or other suitable hardware. Asused herein, “software” can include one or more objects, agents,threads, lines of code, subroutines, separate software applications, twoor more lines of code or other suitable software structures operating intwo or more software applications, on one or more processors (where aprocessor includes one or more microcomputers or other suitable dataprocessing units, memory devices, input-output devices, displays, datainput devices such as a keyboard or a mouse, peripherals such asprinters and speakers, associated drivers, control cards, power sources,network devices, docking station devices, or other suitable devicesoperating under control of software systems in conjunction with theprocessor or other devices), or other suitable software structures. Inone exemplary embodiment, software can include one or more lines of codeor other suitable software structures operating in a general purposesoftware application, such as an operating system, and one or more linesof code or other suitable software structures operating in a specificpurpose software application. As used herein, the term “couple” and itscognate terms, such as “couples” and “coupled,” can include a physicalconnection (such as a copper conductor), a virtual connection (such asthrough randomly assigned memory locations of a data memory device), alogical connection (such as through logical gates of a semiconductingdevice), other suitable connections, or a suitable combination of suchconnections. The term “data” can refer to a suitable structure forusing, conveying or storing data, such as a data field, a data buffer, adata message having the data value and sender/receiver address data, acontrol message having the data value and one or more operators thatcause the receiving system or component to perform a function using thedata, or other suitable hardware or software components for theelectronic processing of data.

In general, a software system is a system that operates on a processorto perform predetermined functions in response to predetermined datafields. For example, a system can be defined by the function it performsand the data fields that it performs the function on. As used herein, aNAME system, where NAME is typically the name of the general functionthat is performed by the system, refers to a software system that isconfigured to operate on a processor and to perform the disclosedfunction on the disclosed data fields. Unless a specific algorithm isdisclosed, then any suitable algorithm that would be known to one ofskill in the art for performing the function using the associated datafields is contemplated as falling within the scope of the disclosure.For example, a message system that generates a message that includes asender address field, a recipient address field and a message fieldwould encompass software operating on a processor that can obtain thesender address field, recipient address field and message field from asuitable system or device of the processor, such as a buffer device orbuffer system, can assemble the sender address field, recipient addressfield and message field into a suitable electronic message format (suchas an electronic mail message, a TCP/IP message or any other suitablemessage format that has a sender address field, a recipient addressfield and message field), and can transmit the electronic message usingelectronic messaging systems and devices of the processor over acommunications medium, such as a network. One of ordinary skill in theart would be able to provide the specific coding for a specificapplication based on the foregoing disclosure, which is intended to setforth exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and not toprovide a tutorial for someone having less than ordinary skill in theart, such as someone who is unfamiliar with programming or processors ina suitable programming language. A specific algorithm for performing afunction can be provided in a flow chart form or in other suitableformats, where the data fields and associated functions can be set forthin an exemplary order of operations, where the order can be rearrangedas suitable and is not intended to be limiting unless explicitly statedto be limiting.

Control interface 102 is a special purpose processor that is configuredto generate a plurality of user controls that includes content byreceiving user control definition data and generating associated usercontrols. In one exemplary embodiment, control interface 102 can beimplemented as a World Wide Web (WWW) log or “blog” post that includesimages and data as well as a plurality of user controls that can eitherbe included in the blog post, such as hypertext links and widgets, orexternal to the blog post, such as web browser controls and userinterface devices such as mouse controls, cursor controls and othersuitable controls having the specific control data input and outputprocessing functionality described in greater detail herein. In thisexemplary embodiment, meta control 108 and display controls 110 can beimplemented as hypertext links, widgets, external controls or in othersuitable manners. In another exemplary embodiment, control interface 102can be implemented as an application or thin client on a smart phone,tablet computer or other suitable computing device, that includesadditional functional and display elements having the specific controldata input and output processing functionality described in greaterdetail herein. In this exemplary embodiment, the application or thinclient can be written in objective C, HTML, JavaScript or other suitableprogramming languages, and meta control 108 and display controls 110 canbe implemented as an object, agent, control, function, user-selectablelink or in other suitable manners having the specific control data inputand output processing functionality described in greater detail herein.

Meta control 108 generates meta content that can include meta controlsand meta data, and which is functionally associated with meta controlserver 106. In one exemplary embodiment, meta control 108 operates inconjunction with display controls 110, which are used to generateadditional content and controls. In this exemplary embodiment, wherecontrol interface 102 is a blog operating on a website, display controls110 are used to generate the blog content and functionality, such as thetext data, image data, navigation controls (cursor scrolling and cursorarrow keys) and other suitable user controls, and meta control 108 isused to include additional content and controls that are provided bymeta control server 106. It is the innovative control functionality ofthe special purpose control interface 102 and meta control 108 alongwith the meta control server 106 that provides the additional contentand methods by which this is done provide significant technicaladvantage over traditional approaches as will become apparent. In thisexemplary embodiment, the content and controls generated by meta control108 are independent of the control of the developer of control interface102, other than the decision to include or exclude meta control 108within control interface 102, and can include thumbnails or other linksto one or more of control interfaces 104A through 104N. As used herein,a thumbnail refers to a small window that includes content, such as animage, text or other suitable content, and which has an associatedtransfer control such as HTTP, so that when a viewing user selects thethumbnail with a user interface device such as a mouse or touch screeninterface, the user can navigate to a control interface associated withthe thumbnail. In addition or alternatively, limited control can beprovided to the developer of control interface 102 to control thecontent and functionality of meta control 108, such as the location ofmeta control 108 within control interface 102, to generate feedbackregarding the content generated by meta control 108 (such as to removepredetermined content) or for other suitable purposes. In anotherexemplary embodiment, control interface 102 can be an application, andthe location and functionality of meta control 108 can be defined by theapplication developer, although additional functionality can also oralternatively be allocated to the developer/publisher of controlinterface 102. For example, in this exemplary embodiment controlinterface 102 can be a social media application, and meta control 108and display controls 110 can be defined by the social media applicationin conjunction with the provider of meta control server 106, but thecontent of the publisher's social media page can be controlled by thepublisher.

Meta control server 106 is a special purpose processor that isconfigured to functionally interface with meta control 108 to providecontent and controls. In one exemplary embodiment, meta control server106 can include cross promotion control 116 and traffic control 118,which are used to select content for meta control 108, and meta controlanalysis tool 120, which can generate reports for users of trafficgenerated by meta control 108 and meta control server 106. The metacontrol server 106, cross promotion control 116, and meta controlanalysis tool 120 can select and provide content and generate reportsusing the specific control data input and output processingfunctionality described in greater detail herein. In one exemplaryembodiment, where control interface 102 is a blog operating on awebsite, meta control 108 can be included within a blog post by thedeveloper of the blog, and can be activated when a viewing user accessesthe blog post. In this exemplary embodiment, meta control 108 generatesa data message when the control interface 102 is loaded into a viewer,web browser or otherwise activated, where the data message istransmitted by the processor and network infrastructure to meta controlserver 106. One of ordinary skill will recognize that the processor andnetwork infrastructure in this embodiment is well known, and includesthe Open System Interconnect (OSI) functionality that has been developedto provide Internet communications, including but not limited to WWWbrowser software that generates user interfaces and controls such asHTTP controls, processor functionality that includes display devicesthat generate user interface displays, buffers that store data fordisplay, processors that recognize user interface controls and thatformat data for transmission over a network, network interface devicesthat provide the network interface functionality that allow devices tocommunicate over a data network by requesting and receiving data,tracking addresses and timing and other network interface functionality,and the like.

Meta control server 106 receives the data message that is generated atactuation by meta control 108 and selects data for transmission to metacontrol 108 to be generated in conjunction with control interface 102.In one exemplary embodiment, the data can include text, image andcontrol data selected by cross promotion control 116 and traffic control118 that is associated with control interfaces 104A through 104N, wherethe data is selected based on data associated with control interface102, such as by the publisher of each control interface 104A through104N when each publisher installs meta control 112A through 112N on theassociated control interface 104A through 104N, respectively. In oneexemplary embodiment, where control interface 102 is a blog post, metacontrol server 106 can first identify relevant data associated with theblog post, such as by “scraping” the text and image data included in theblog post, and can then use that text and image data to select dataassociated with one or more of control interfaces 104A through 104N forinclusion within control interface 102. In this exemplary embodiment,the blog post of control interface 102 can be directed to clothing thatis appropriate for an event, where the clothing is available from afirst retailer. Meta control server 106 can “scrape” the text and imagedata used by the publisher to create the blog post and can then use thattext and image data to select other blog posts, such as one or more ofcontrol interfaces 104A through 104N, for inclusion within thepublisher's blog post at a suitable location, such as in a thumbnailimage located along the bottom or side margins of the blog post. Thecontent provided in the thumbnail can be randomly selected, selected bythe publisher of the other control interface, can be still or videoimages, or can be selected in other suitable manners. In this manner, aperson that is viewing the publisher's blog post for the purpose offinding attire for an event that is discussed in the blog post can bepresented with other useful options for attire, but can be restricted toother retailers, so as not to compete with the original blog post. Byanalyzing the content of the original blog post and selecting contentfor inclusion that is 1) related and 2) non-competitive, meta controlserver 106 operates in conjunction with meta control 108 to benefit notonly the publisher of control interface 102 but also the publishers ofcontrol interfaces 104A through 104N. By allowing selected content fromcontrol interfaces 104A through 104N to be included in control interface102, the publisher of control interface 102 thus increases the appeal oftheir blog post while being included in the pool of related content thatcan be included in the blog posts of control interfaces 104A through104N, which one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize provide thesame functionality as described for control interface 102, but insteadfor the text and image data of those other control interfaces 104Athrough 104N.

It is the innovative input and output processing functionality of thespecial purpose meta control server 106 and meta control 108 thatprovides the additional content by filtering the content based on atleast one of relevancy and non-competing content. It is this controlfunctionality that provides significant technical advantage overtraditional approaches to liking web based content.

In addition to cross promotion control 116, traffic control 118 can alsobe advantageously used to optimize the performance of system 100. In oneexemplary embodiment, where control interfaces 102 and 104A through 104Nare blog posts, the selection of the most relevant secondary blog postfor inclusion within the primary blog post of control interface 102 canbe based on image and text data, as described, but can result in atraffic imbalance. For example, control interface 102 can result in moreoutbound traffic than inbound traffic, such as where the viewers ofcontrol interface 102 are more likely to select one or more of controlinterfaces 104A through 104N (“outbound clicks”) than the viewers ofcontrol interfaces 104A through 104N are likely to select controlinterface 102 (“inbound clicks”). A number of reasons can exist for suchimbalances, but in order to ensure that all publisher users of system100 enjoy the same benefits from the collective users of controlinterfaces 102 and 104A through 104N, traffic control 118 can be used tomodify the ranking of the results when a user control 102 or 104Athrough 104N is loaded by a user. In this exemplary embodiment, wherethe user controls are associated with a blog, when a user accesses oneof the participating blogs of system 100, meta control server 106 canfirst generate a list of prospective blog links using cross promotioncontrol 116 to first identify and rank the most relevant associatedblogs, and can then use traffic control 118 to select a blog forinclusion as a function of the “outbound clicks” for the current blogand the “inbound clicks” for that blog. For example, if the current bloghas a large number of outbound clicks but a small number of inboundclicks, and the highest ranked associated blogs have large numbers forinbound clicks but low numbers for outbound clicks, traffic control 118can be used to skip to the blog in the ranking that has a higher numberof outbound clicks. For example, if blog A is currently being viewed oncontrol interface 102, then cross promotion control 116 for meta controlserver 106 could identify the following blogs for inclusion based onranking of content text and data, with the associated inbound andoutbound click data:

Blog Inbound clicks Outbound clicks B 100 1 C 10 10 D 1 100

If blog A has a large number of inbound clicks but a small number ofoutbound clicks, then blog B might be selected for inclusion in athumbnail of the meta control for blog A, because it is less likely tolead the viewing user away from blog A. In other words, the viewing userwould possibly select a control to navigate to blog B, but would be lesslikely to navigate away from blog B, and might therefore return to blogA. A new selection could then be made, which would increase the numberof outbound clicks for blog A. Alternatively, if blog A has a smallnumber of outbound clicks but a large number of inbound clicks, thenblog D could be selected over blogs B and C, even though it is not asrelevant as blogs B and C, in order to increase the number of inboundclicks for blog D.

Likewise, other suitable processes can also or alternatively be used tooptimize traffic. For example, consider the following blogs forinclusion based on ranking of content text and data, with the associatedinbound and outbound click data:

Blog Inbound clicks Outbound clicks B 100 100 C 1 1 D 1 100

If blog A has a small number of inbound clicks and a small number ofoutbound clicks, then blog C might be selected over blog B for inclusionin the meta control for blog A, because it is less likely to lead theviewing user away from blog A. In other words, the viewing user wouldpossibly select a control to navigate to blog C, but would be lesslikely to navigate away from blog C than blog B, and might thereforereturn to blog A. A new selection could then be made, which wouldincrease the number of outbound clicks for blog A. Alternatively, ifblog A has a large number of outbound clicks and a large number ofinbound clicks, then blog D could be selected over blogs B and C, eventhough it is not as relevant as blogs B and C, in order to increase thenumber of inbound clicks for blog D and to further decrease thelikelihood that the viewing user will return to blog A and obtainanother outbound click for blog A.

As such, while the present disclosure is not limited to a specificalgorithm for assigning thumb nails for other control interface data tothe meta control for a specific interface, the following non-limitingexamples of algorithms are contemplated as falling within the scope ofthe present disclosure:

1. Assigning control interfaces based strictly upon ranking relevancefrom text and image content.

2. Assigning control interfaces based strictly upon ranking outboundclick statistics.

3. Assigning control interfaces based strictly upon ranking inboundclick statistics.

4. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics.

5. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics.

6. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics and thenbased on inbound click statistics.

7. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics and thenbased on outbound click statistics.

8. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface, where the primary control interface ifthe control interface that is being accessed by the viewing user and thesecondary control interface is the control interface that is being addedto the primary control interface by the meta control.

9. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on outbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface.

10. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface.

11. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on outbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface

12. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on outbound click statistics ofthe primary control interface and then based on inbound click statisticsof the secondary control interface.

13. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe primary control interface and then based on outbound clickstatistics of the secondary control interface.

14. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe primary control interface and then based on outbound clickstatistics of the secondary control interface and then based on inboundclick statistics of the secondary control interface.

15. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe primary control interface and then based on inbound click statisticsof the secondary control interface and then based on outbound clickstatistics of the secondary control interface.

16. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on outbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on inbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface and then based on inbound clickstatistics of the primary control interface and then based on outboundclick statistics of the secondary control interface.

17. Assigning control interfaces based upon ranking relevance from textand image content and then based on inbound click statistics of theprimary control interface and then based on outbound click statistics ofthe secondary control interface and then based on outbound clickstatistics of the primary control interface and then based on inboundclick statistics of the secondary control interface.

Although exemplary algorithms for selecting secondary control interfacecontent for a primary control interface in accordance with the exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure have been provided, one ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that other suitable algorithmscan also or alternatively be used, using other factors such asdemographics, user preferences, neural network-assisted selectionprocesses, white lists, black lists or other suitable functions.

It is the innovative input and output processing functionality of thespecial purpose meta control server 106, meta control 108, crosspromotion control 116, and traffic control 118 that provides theadditional content and can further filter the content based onnon-competing content and on at least one of relevancy, inbound clicks,and outbound clicks depending the preference or needs of a primary orsecondary provider of web site data. It is this control functionalitythat provides significant technical advantage over traditionalapproaches to linking web based content.

Meta control analysis tool 120 tracks inbound click rates, outboundclick rates and bounce rates (where a click through does not result inany substantial viewing of the secondary control interface), andprovides reporting tools for publishers and system administrators toallow traffic to be analyzed and controlled. In one exemplaryembodiment, meta control analysis tool 120 can generate a dash boardcontrol for the publisher that allows the published to see the inboundclick rate and outbound click rate for traffic generates by meta control108, to black list specific control interfaces displayed by meta control108 (such as competitors), to adjust traffic, and to perform othersuitable functions.

In addition to the exemplary embodiments discussed above with respect toblogs, other suitable user interfaces can also or alternatively be used,such as social networking (such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat,Twitter), email or text messaging functions or applications, videomessaging functions or applications, screen shot processing applicationsor other suitable applications. In these other exemplary embodiments,the ability to provide cross promotion with other content and trafficcontrol can be implemented in manners suitable for those applications,such as by providing thumbnails of the content at the bottom or side ofthe user interface, by inserting content at suitable locations in videodata or sequences of still images, or in other suitable manners.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system 200 for meta control analysis inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.System 200 includes meta control analysis tool 120 and inbound clickrate tool 202, outbound click rate tool 204, bounce rate tool 206,reporting tool 208, traffic control tool 210 and thumb nail tool 212,each of which can be implemented in hardware or a suitable combinationof hardware and software.

Inbound click rate tool 202 generates inbound click rate data for metacontrol 108, meta controls 112A through 112N and meta control server106. In one exemplary embodiment, inbound click rate tool 202 canreceive data that is generated when a viewing user selects an HTTP linkor other suitable control to navigate from a primary control interfaceto a secondary control interface, where the selection is an inboundclick for the secondary interface and an outbound click for the primaryinterface. The number of clicks is also related to the click throughrate, which can be the number of times that the HTTP link is selected bythe viewing user divided by the number of viewing impressions for agiven HTTP link or other suitable metrics. Inbound click rate tool 202can be used to generate inbound click rate data for a dashboard that isgenerated for a publisher of a primary control interface, a systemadministrator or other suitable users.

Outbound click rate tool 204 generates outbound click rate data for metacontrol 108, meta controls 112A through 112N and meta control server106. As discussed above, there is a direct relationship between aninbound click and an outbound click, such that the same event thatgenerates data for one can also be used to generate data for the other,but the data collection and reporting for each can be adapted as needed.In one exemplary embodiment, the inbound click rate data and theoutbound click rate data can be stored for each control interface in aseparate data record, and the inbound and outbound click rates can begenerated from a data record for each control interface. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the user activity for every control interface canbe centrally stored and inbound and outbound click rates can begenerated from a central database for all control interfaces. Likewise,other suitable embodiments can also or alternatively be used.

Bounce rate tool 206 tracks the success or failure of a transfer from aprimary control interface to a secondary control interface. In oneexemplary embodiment, a “bounce” or failure can be defined based onwhether the viewing user remains for a predetermined length of timespent on the secondary control interface, whether the viewing userperforms a number of user interactions with HTTP links or other controlsof the secondary interface, whether the viewing user performs a numberof scroll events or other user interface control events, a suitablecombination of such events or other suitable metrics.

Reporting tool 208 generates reports for publishers, administrators orother suitable users. In one exemplary embodiment, reporting tool 208can include user-selectable reporting criteria for traffic to and from acontrol interface, a ranking of the control interfaces having thehighest inbound click rates, a ranking of the control interfaces havingthe highest outbound click rates or other suitable data.

Traffic control tool 210 generates one or more user interface controlsto allow a user to increase or decrease traffic to or from a controlinterface. In one exemplary embodiment, a publisher can have a highinbound traffic rate, and can elect to reduce that rate in exchange foran increase in inbound traffic at a different control interface, toreceive a payment or for other suitable purposes. Likewise, a publishercan have a high outbound traffic rate, and can elect to offer spots inone or more meta control advertising spots to other publishers for afee, such as by entering into an agreement with a publisher of asecondary control interface that is brokered through the administratorof a meta control server. Traffic control tool 210 allows a publisher tomodify inbound or outbound traffic levels in such manners or in othersuitable manners, either independently or in conjunction with anadministrator of a meta control server, secondary control interfacepublisher or in other suitable manners.

Thumb nail tool 212 can be used to generate thumbnail content for acontrol interface. In one exemplary embodiment, thumb nail tool 212 canautomatically select content based on the match between a primarycontrol interface and a secondary control interface, such as byselecting text and images of the secondary control interface that aremost similar to the text and images of the primary control interface(e.g. “scraping” content). In another exemplary embodiment, thumb nailtool 212 can generate a user interface to allow a publisher to create athumb nail that will be used by meta controls to generate content onother control interfaces.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an algorithm 300 for updating click-throughstatistics, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Algorithm 300 can be implemented in hardware or a suitablecombination of hardware and software.

Algorithm 300 begins at 302, where a viewer is executed using a firstcontrol interface. In one exemplary embodiment, a viewing user cannavigate to a blog using a web browser, and can cause text data, imagedata and controls associated with the blog to load in a web browserapplication. The algorithm then proceeds to 304.

At 304, the time of access is recorded. In one exemplary embodiment, thetime of access can be used to select additional content from othercontrol interfaces, such as to select control interface content that isthe most relevant. The algorithm then proceeds to 306.

At 306, meta control content is selected. In one exemplary embodiment,the meta control content can be selected using the previously disclosedexemplary embodiments, such as by extracting text and image data from aprimary control interface and then by selecting secondary controlinterface content based on a ranking of similar relevant terms. Inaddition, other suitable data can also or alternatively be used, such astext and image data from one of more linked sources associated with thecontrol interface, inbound or outbound click through data associatedwith the primary or secondary control interface, demographic data, whitelists, black lists or other suitable data. The algorithm then proceedsto 308.

At 308, it is determined whether the user has selected a secondarycontrol interface. In one exemplary embodiment, the secondary controlinterface data can be presented as thumbnails that are displayed alongthe bottom or side of the primary control interface. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the secondary control interface data can beinserted within the primary control interface data, such as based on anXML, template, based on a location of one or more tags or in othersuitable manners. Other suitable formats can also or alternatively beused. User selection of a thumbnail or other suitable selection controlcan be used to navigate to the selected control interface, to open a newwindow containing the control interface, to generate a pop-up windowthat can be further selected to navigate to the selected controlinterface, or in other suitable manners. If it is determined that a userdid not select the secondary control interface at 308, such as by timingout, by detection of user navigation to a different web page or in othersuitable manners, then the algorithm proceeds to 310 where statisticsare updated, such as to reflect that the secondary control interface wasloaded onto the web page (typically referred to as an “impression”) butthat the user did not “click through” by selecting the secondary controlinterface. If it is determined at 308 that the user selected thesecondary control interface, the algorithm proceeds to 312, where clickthrough statistics for the primary control interface and secondarycontrol interface are updated, such as to reflect the outbound clickfrom the primary control interface to the secondary control interface,the inbound click to the secondary control interface from the primarycontrol interface, and other suitable data. The algorithm then proceedsto 314.

At 314, the content from the secondary user interface is generated. Inone exemplary embodiment, the content can be generated in a new windowof a web browser or other suitable application. In another exemplaryembodiment, the content can be generated in the same window and canreplace the content of the primary control interface, or other suitableprocesses can also or alternatively be used. The algorithm then proceedsto 316.

At 316, it is determined whether the user has remained on the secondarycontrol interface for a predetermined period of time. In addition oralternatively, it can be determined if the user has scrolled on thesecondary control interface, selected one or more controls on thesecondary control interface or has otherwise interfaced with thesecondary control interface in a manner that reflects that the user hasviewed the content. If it is determined that the user has not remainedon the secondary control interface for a predetermined period of time orotherwise viewed the secondary control interface, the algorithm proceedsto 318, where statistics are updated to reflect that the viewing userdid not interact with the secondary control interface. Otherwise, thealgorithm proceeds to 320.

At 320, statistics are updated to reflect that the user remained on thesecondary control interface, such as to confirm a click through rate forinbound or outbound traffic statistics. The algorithm then proceeds to322.

At 322, it is determined whether the user made a purchase from thesecondary control interface or otherwise generated revenue, such asordering content, making a donation or engaging in other revenue-basedactivities. In one exemplary embodiment, a meta control server can storestate information and track activities associated with the user at thesecondary control interface. In another exemplary embodiment, a trackingcookie or other suitable control can be used to determine whether theuser subsequently made a purchase or engaged in other revenue-basedactivity from the secondary control interface. If it is determined thatthe user did not perform such functions, the algorithm proceeds to 324where statistics are updated to reflect that a purchase was not made forthe primary control interface and secondary control interface, otherwisethe algorithm proceeds to 326 where the statistics are updated toreflect the purchase, to generate revenue sharing or tracking data orfor other suitable purposes.

In operation, algorithm 300 allows traffic control to be implemented bystoring data pertaining to the number of inbound and outbound clickthrough events that occur which are associated with a meta controlserver and functional interface. Although algorithm 300 is shown in flowchart format, other suitable programming paradigms can also oralternatively be used to represent or implement algorithm 300, includingbut not limited to object oriented programming and state transitiondiagrams. In addition, although exemplary algorithmic functions havebeen shown in flow chart form, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the functions described in the boxes are alsoalgorithmic, and can be implemented in greater detail as needed inaccordance with the exemplary embodiments discussed herein, such as toselect meta control content based on one or more of the exemplaryembodiments discussed herein or to update statistics using one or moreof the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an algorithm 400 for selecting secondary controlinterface content for a primary control interface, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Algorithm 400 can beimplemented in hardware or a suitable combination of hardware andsoftware.

Algorithm 400 begins at 402, where content of a control interface isdetermined. In one exemplary embodiment, the content can be determinedby scraping the control interface to extract text data, image data,hyperlinks and other suitable data, and by analyzing the text data,image data, hyperlink data or data obtained from the hyperlink addressto identify one or more key words or concepts. In this exemplaryembodiment, a control interface can be a blog that discusses a specifictype of clothing for a specific event, where the keywords are limited tothat specific type of clothing or that specific event. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the keywords can be expanded to other types ofclothing for that specific event, or other types of events for thatspecific clothing. These examples are intended to be non-limiting, andother types of processes can be used to evaluate the content of thecontrol interface. The content can be determined when the blog or othercontrol interface is published, posted, released or otherwise completed,can be determined prior to activation of the control at 404 or can beimplemented in other suitable manners. The algorithm then proceeds to404.

At 404, a meta control of the control interface is activated. In oneexemplary embodiment, the meta control can be implemented as a widget orother functional component of a blog or web page, and can cause one ormore data messages to be transmitted to a meta control server. Thealgorithm then proceeds to 406.

At 406, the content of other control interfaces is ranked for thepurpose of selecting secondary control interfaces to reference from theprimary control interface. In one exemplary embodiment, the keywords forthe primary control interface can be used to filter other controlinterfaces as a function of the keywords associated with those othercontrol interfaces, such as by using a search algorithm to locate otherrelevant control interfaces. Likewise, other suitable ranking procedurescan also or alternatively be used, such as image data analysis andmatching, related link keyword matching (such as by accessing therelated links from the other control interfaces and adding keywordsassociated with those related links to the analysis), or other suitabledata. The algorithm then proceeds to 408.

At 408, competitors are excluded from the identified secondary controlinterface candidates. In one exemplary embodiment, competitors can beidentified by identifying retail sales systems associated with theprimary and secondary control interfaces, and excluding any secondarycontrol interfaces that use the same retail sales systems as the primarycontrol interface. In this exemplary embodiment, if the primary controlinterface features products from store A and the secondary controlinterface also features products from store A, such that both controlinterfaces generate revenue by referring sales to store A, then thesecondary control interface can be excluded, but if the secondarycontrol interface features the same type of products from store B, thenthe secondary control interface can be included, such as where the typeof products have sufficient diversity, such as clothing. In this regard,the term “competitor” does not mean a competitor in every aspect, suchas a party that sells the same type of goods or services, as long as theparty does not compete with the primary control interface in at leastone aspect. In addition, a black list of excluded control interfaces, awhite listed of included control interfaces or other suitable processescan also or alternatively be used to select candidates for the secondarycontrol interfaces. The algorithm then proceeds to 410.

At 410, the ranking of secondary control interfaces is adjusted asfunction of click through rates. As discussed above, both the primarycontrol interface and the secondary control interfaces will haveassociated inbound and outbound click through rates, and based on theabsolute or relative inbound and outbound click through rates, theratios of click through rates or other suitable metrics, the rankingscan be adjusted to provide optimal traffic control, so as to ensure thatall control interfaces that participate in the meta control systemexperience the same approximate number of inbound and outbound clickthrough rates. The algorithm then proceeds to 412.

At 412, the meta control content is selected. In one exemplaryembodiment, when a secondary control interface is selected for use withthe meta control, a predetermined thumbnail, video segment, text segmentor other suitable data can be retrieved or selected and used to populatea thumbnail or small window section of the meta control for the primarycontrol interface. In this manner, when a viewing user accesses theprimary control interface, they will be presented with additionalrelevant content of potential interest in a small thumbnail or otherwindow/feature, and can select that content to navigate to the secondarycontrol interface to view the content. The navigation can result in apop-up window, a new window or other suitable processes can be used. Theviewing user's subsequent activities in regards to the secondary controlinterface can then be tracked to provide additional statistics for usein determining whether to use the secondary control interface for othermeta control selections.

In operation, algorithm 400 allows data for one or more secondarycontrol interfaces to be selected for display on a primary controlinterface, based on the relevance of the secondary control interfacecontent and traffic load balancing. Although algorithm 400 is shown inflow chart format, other suitable programming paradigms can also oralternatively be used to represent or implement algorithm 400, includingbut not limited to object oriented programming and state transitiondiagrams. In addition, although exemplary algorithmic functions havebeen shown in flow chart form, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that the functions described in the boxes are alsoalgorithmic, and can be implemented in greater detail as needed inaccordance with the exemplary embodiments discussed herein, such as toselect meta control content based on one or more of the exemplaryembodiments discussed herein or to update statistics using one or moreof the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.

Control interface 102 and meta control server 106 of system 100 andassociated algorithms 300 and 400 are special purpose processingsystems. The meta control server 106 is configured to receive contentrequests from control interface 102 and provide additional web basedcontent in response. The special purpose system operates to select webbased content from other interface providers and filter the contentbased on the publisher, or other information that can be used todetermine whether the other interface provider is a competing entity,and further operates to filter the content based on at least one ofrelevance of the content, inbound clicks, and outbound clicks and thepreference or requirements of the control interface 102 or other controlinterfaces 104A-104N. The special purpose processing system performsthese functions using the specific control data input and outputprocessing functionality as described in the algorithms presentedherein. The control functionality of control interface 102 and metacontrol server 106 is an innovative way in which to manage theintegration of web based data from at least one other secondary serviceprovider into the web site of a primary service provider. A technicaladvantage of such a special purpose system is that web traffic can beanalyzed in real-time from the primary source and relevant and/ortraffic enhancing web based data determined and filtered ofnon-competing web-based data and provided to the primary source. This isa significant advantage over traditional systems wherein 3^(rd) partylinkable content within a web site lack the control and managementcapabilities as that of the present system.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelyexamples of possible implementations. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiments without departing fromthe principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling web traffic, the systemcomprising a meta control server, the meta control server comprising afirst processor coupled to a memory, the meta control server incommunication with a second processor associated with a viewing user,and the meta control server configured to perform operations including:receiving, over an electronic network, a content request from the secondprocessor for a first control interface; scraping the first controlinterface to extract product data; generating a ranking of a pluralityof second control interface candidates based at least on the extractedproduct data; excluding, from the ranking, one or more second controlinterface candidates that compete with the first control interface suchthat the ranking includes a subset of the plurality of second controlinterface candidates; adjusting the ranking based on an imbalancebetween an inbound click through rate and an outbound click through rateassociated with at least one of: the first control interface or thesubset of the plurality of second control interface candidates by:comparing the respective inbound and outbound click through rates foreach of the subset of the plurality of second control interfacecandidates with the inbound click through rate and the outbound clickthrough rate for the first control interface; based on the comparison,selecting one or more highest-ranked second control interface candidatesfrom the adjusted ranking to link to the first control interface; andcausing to be displayed, at the first control interface, data associatedwith the selected one or more highest-ranked second control interfacecandidates.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the extracted product dataincludes at least one of text data, image data, or hyperlinks associatedwith one or more products featured on the first control interface. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein generating a ranking of a plurality ofsecond control interface candidates based at least on the extractedproduct data further comprises: analyzing the extracted product data toidentify one or more keywords associated with a product category; andfiltering the plurality of second control interface candidates using theone or more keywords to identify one or more second control interfacecandidates of the plurality of second control interface candidates thatare relevant to the first control interface.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein excluding, from the ranking, one or more second controlinterface candidates that compete with the first control interfacefurther comprises: identifying the one or more second control interfacecandidates that compete with the first control interface by identifyingretail sales systems associated with the first control interface and theplurality of second control interface candidates.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein the meta control server is configured to perform furtheroperations including: further adjusting the ranking based on a neuralnetwork-assisted selection process.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe meta control server is configured to perform further operationsincluding: further adjusting the ranking based on at least one of:demographics, user preferences, a white list, or a black list.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein causing to be displayed, at the first controlinterface, data associated with the selected one or more highest-rankedsecond control interface candidates further comprises: causing to bedisplayed, at a thumbnail or a small window section of the first controlinterface, a still image or a video image associated with the selectedone or more highest-ranked second control interface candidates.
 8. Acomputer-implemented method for controlling web traffic using a metacontrol server that comprises a first processor coupled to a memory andis in communication with a second processor associated with a viewinguser, the method comprising: receiving, over an electronic network, acontent request from the second processor for a first control interface;scraping the first control interface to extract product data; generatinga ranking of a plurality of second control interface candidates based atleast on the extracted product data; excluding, from the ranking, one ormore second control interface candidates that compete with the firstcontrol interface such that the ranking includes a subset of theplurality of second control interface candidates; adjusting the rankingbased on an imbalance between an inbound click through rate and anoutbound click through rate associated with at least one of: the firstcontrol interface or the subset of the plurality of second controlinterface candidates by: comparing the respective inbound and outboundclick through rates for each of the subset of the plurality of secondcontrol interface candidates with the inbound click through rate and theoutbound click through rate for the first control interface; based onthe comparison, selecting one or more highest-ranked second controlinterface candidates from the adjusted ranking to link to the firstcontrol interface; and causing to be displayed, at the first controlinterface, data associated with the selected one or more highest-rankedsecond control interface candidates.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe extracted product data includes at least one of text data, imagedata, or hyperlinks associated with one or more products featured on thefirst control interface.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein generating aranking of a plurality of second control interface candidates based atleast on the extracted product data further comprises: analyzing theextracted product data to identify one or more keywords associated witha product category; and filtering the plurality of second controlinterface candidates using the one or more keywords to identify one ormore second control interface candidates of the plurality of secondcontrol interface candidates that are relevant to the first controlinterface.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein excluding, from theranking, one or more second control interface candidates that competewith the first control interface further comprises: identifying the oneor more second control interface candidates that compete with the firstcontrol interface by identifying retail sales systems associated withthe first control interface and the plurality of second controlinterface candidates.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:further adjusting the ranking based on a neural network-assistedselection process.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:further adjusting the ranking based on at least one of: demographics,user preferences, a white list, or a black list.
 14. The method of claim8, wherein causing to be displayed, at the first control interface, dataassociated with the selected one or more highest-ranked second controlinterface candidates further comprises: causing to be displayed, at athumbnail or a small window section of the first control interface, astill image or a video image associated with the selected one or morehighest-ranked second control interface candidates.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which,when executed by a meta control server that comprises a first processorcoupled to a memory and is in communication with a second processorassociated with a viewing user, cause the meta control server to performoperations for controlling web traffic, the operations including:receiving, over an electronic network, a content request from the secondprocessor for a first control interface; scraping the first controlinterface to extract product data; generating a ranking of a pluralityof second control interface candidates based at least on the extractedproduct data; excluding, from the ranking, one or more second controlinterface candidates that compete with the first control interface suchthat the ranking includes a subset of the plurality of second controlinterface candidates; adjusting the ranking based on an imbalancebetween an inbound click through rate and an outbound click through rateassociated with at least one of: the first control interface or thesubset of the plurality of second control interface candidates by:comparing the respective inbound and outbound click through rates foreach of the subset of the plurality of second control interfacecandidates with the inbound click through rate and the outbound clickthrough rate for the first control interface; selecting one or morehighest-ranked second control interface candidates from the adjustedranking to link to the first control interface; and causing to bedisplayed, at the first control interface, data associated with theselected one or more highest-ranked second control interface candidates.16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the extractedproduct data includes at least one of text data, image data, orhyperlinks associated with one or more products featured on the firstcontrol interface.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, whereincausing to be displayed, at the first control interface, data associatedwith the selected one or more highest-ranked second control interfacecandidates further comprises: causing to be displayed, at a thumbnail ora small window section of the first control interface, a still image ora video image associated with the selected one or more highest-rankedsecond control interface candidates.